Eyes on the road: Unraveling India's crash crisis
2 min read 14 Jun 2023, 11:48 PM ISTIn 2021, road accidents caused the deaths of 155,622 people in India while another 371,884 were injured
PremiumIndian roads are the most dangerous in the world. Despite best efforts, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari recently admitted that the target of halving accidents by 2024 will not be achieved. Mint explains why it is such an onerous task.
Just how bad are Indian roads?
In 2021, road accidents caused the deaths of 155,622 people in India while another 371,884 were injured. This translates into 18 deaths every hour and marked a 16.8% increase over 2020 when fatalities had declined by 14% largely due to lower vehicular traffic movement on account of covid-induced lockdowns. The country recorded 403,116 road accidents in that year, a growth of 13.6% over 354,796 accidents in 2020. Accidents take a toll on the country’s economy and an estimated 3% of GDP is lost to them. India accounts for nearly 12% of global deaths due to road accidents.
What are the main reasons?
Over-speeding and plain bad driving are the two biggest reasons for accidents in the country, accounting for nearly 85% of incidents as well as fatalities. Nearly 60% of the road accidents happen in rural parts of the country. National highways that account for only 2% of the country’s total road-length accounts for 24% of the accidents and 35% of fatalities. Lax law enforcement acts as an enabler. Every fourth accident in the county involves a person driving or riding a vehicle without a licence. Most accidents and fatalities are caused by two-wheelers.
Who are the most vulnerable?
Two-wheeler riders are the most vulnerable, accounting for 45% of the fatalities followed by pedestrians at 19%. The share of pedestrians has more than doubled from 9% in the last 6 years. The number of pedestrian deaths in 2021 was more than all fatalities in EU and Japan put together. A Bosch study found 99% of pedestrians in India susceptible to injury.
What has been done to improve things?
A major focus area has been to identify and rectify ‘dark spots’ on highways. The government has spent over ₹40,000 crore on this. New highways being built have passageways for locals and cameras are being installed for law enforcement. Investments are being made into driver training institutes while the process of issuing driving licenses is being upgraded. For cars, the government has mandated two airbags as standard and is increasing it to 6, alongside a star rating system for safety.
Why are the steps not working?
Lack of coordination between various arms of the government is a problem. Use of electronic surveillance is tardy. Only four states have acted proactively on it so far. Gadkari has also flagged the obsession with cutting the cost of building highways at the cost of safety. A big focus on car users that account for 16% of fatalities comes at the cost of two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. Lack of education among road-users on safety aspects of traffic and weak licensing norms are long-term fundamental roadblocks.
